Rice noodle salad with shrimp and scallions

Keep some nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) in your fridge, and this salad will come together in minutes. Serves 2; can be doubled.

1/2 lb banh pho noodles1 tsp vegetable or peanut oil8 large (31-40 size) shrimp, peeled and deveined1/4 head thinly shredded iceberg lettuce1/4 cup shredded cucumber (I like the European seedless cucumbers, shredded on the largest holes of a box grater)Handful of mint leaves and/or Thai basil, if you have itA few strips of shredded carrot, if you have it1/4 cup thinly sliced scallionsNuoc cham, 3 Tbsp or more, to taste2 tsp chopped dry roasted, unsalted peanuts

Fill
a bowl with hot tap water. Soak the noodles for 15 minutes, until
flexible. Drain. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop
in the noodles, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water,
and drain again. Set aside.

In a small frying pan (not nonstick),
heat 1 tsp oil over high heat until almost smoking. Sauté the shrimp
for 1 minute on each side, until shrimp are curled, no longer
translucent, and have a bit of brown color. Remove from the pan and set
aside.

Assemble the salad: To a serving bowl or platter, add --
in this order -- lettuce, cucumber, mint leaves (if using), carrot (if
using), scallions, and the cooked noodles. Top with shrimp. Pour on the
nuoc cham and toss, then sprinkle chopped peanuts on top.